Pittsburgh Housing Authority Refutes Reports About Property Neglect
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A few weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Housing Authority came under fire when several residents alleged property neglect, but the board says they've reviewed all the complaints and found everything in order.
Among those allegations were reports of mold, leaks and infestations from residents who said the problems had gone unchecked for more than a decade. But the Pittsburgh Housing Authority is now refuting those claims and saying they have proof it's not as bad as it was made out to be.
After calls for resignations and a complete overhaul of the Pittsburgh Housing Authority's leadership, the board says there will be no such thing.
"Even though this is oftentimes been looked at as a lemon, the Housing Authority has turned this into lemonade because it forced us to look back and reaffirm that we are taking care of business," said Chair of Commissioners Valerie Roberts.
At Northview Heights, Bedford Dwellings, Arlington Heights and Homewood North, residents claimed they'd been living under poor conditions for years, and a recent investigation showed more than half of the authority's housing developments had failed inspections. But authority leaders now say their house is in order.
"The HACP is not 'failing' in the work order response time. In all categories in FY 2019, 2020 and 2021, the HACP scored a C or higher," said the authority's general counsel, James Harris.
They say items listed in that investigation that were said to be unsafe were actually repaired at least two years ago. They showed proof during Friday's news conference and cited information from residents taken during their own internal review.
"Residents confirmed that concerns were addressed prior to the time of publication," said Harris.
However, based on the allegations and other results from their internal review, the authority says changes will be made. In fact, they say the first step they're taking is to create more effective inspection and maintenance protocols surrounding work orders.
The Black Political Empowerment Project along with Chairman and CEO Tim Stevens sent a letter to the Housing Authority, calling for an internal review of the authority as well as its executive director and had this comment to share:
"We appreciate the three steps however a fourth step will be necessary. Going back to the original letter. Housing Authority needs to give a full report to public and media in person to respond to any other questions or concerns that media may feel are not fully answered. The Housing Authority was such a devastating story, it must go past the call of duty and must be transparent in addressing serious charges. In the end we're looking at the conditions in which people live in our city and we must all look at those conditions in being the highlights level possible."
Authority commissioners didn't answer questions Friday when they released the findings. Instead they said anybody with questions can email them and the questions will be answered and posted online with a deadline of Oct. 22.
If you have questions for the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, they can be sent to community.affairs@hacp.org.